: In Issue 1 of Game Urara (c. 1995), a small advertisement/blurb appeared offering the game for ¥3,000 via a "shady" Tokyo P.O. box.
In the "Rare Title Ranking" section of the October 1995 issue, Hong Kong 97 appeared at out of 100. This wasn't a sales chart; it was a "rarity chart" compiled from hobby shop inventory. It was listed as "Rank: Top 30 Rarest." This is the closest the game ever came to a legitimate sales chart. For serious collectors seeking a verified “Hong Kong 97 magazine top” scan, this is the most coveted proof of the game’s scarcity. hong kong 97 magazine top
: Kurosawa used underground gaming magazines to run advertisements and fake reviews for his game, which helped cement its legendary status in the "bootleg" market. : In Issue 1 of Game Urara (c
: General interest magazines like Time , Newsweek, and Asiaweek released "Top" or special commemorative issues in 1997 focused on the actual Hong Kong handover, which often surface in searches for this topic. In the "Rare Title Ranking" section of the
Scans from the mid-90s depicting the political climate of Deng Xiaoping (who appears as a boss in the game).